What happens if the wrong thing ends up in my recycling?

Nobody gets this perfect, and we are not inspecting your tote. A yogurt pot that did not get rinsed or the odd wrong item is not going to cause anyone a problem.

What does cause a problem is the same wrong thing every week. Recycling goes to a sorting facility, and a load that arrives badly contaminated can be rejected outright and sent to landfill, which means the whole truck's worth, including everything your neighbors got right.

The four that do real damage:

• Plastic bags. They wrap around the sorting machinery and it has to be stopped and cut free.
• Food and liquid. Wet paper and cardboard cannot be recycled, so a half-full bottle ruins whatever it soaks.
• Batteries. These start fires. Lithium-ion batteries from cordless tools, vapes and toys are the worst of it, and they go to a hazardous waste day instead.
• Hoses, cords and chain. Anything long and flexible tangles the equipment.

If you are genuinely unsure about an item, put it in the trash rather than the recycling. A recyclable item in the trash is a small loss. A contaminant in the recycling can cost a whole load. The accepted and rejected lists cover about fifty items.